Revising the Book

In my childhood, you could say that I was extremely mischievous! I do not think any of my brothers and sisters had been as mischievous as I was. Then, in the Ashram, I became a so-called saint. There I behaved very, very well.

Perhaps some people think that we did not have electricity. At the Ashram we did have electricity, and even the Chittagong town had electric light.

In the Ashram I remained at the playground practising sports until nine o’clock or nine-thirty in the morning. Then we had to study in school. In French I was an excellent student. I studied French every day, five days a week. Bengali I studied once a week, and English I think twice a week. I always stood first or second in my classes, except for mathematics.

At around eleven o’clock at night I used to go to bed. Then, one night, at seven minutes past two I was inwardly pinched by “somebody” to get up and meditate. The first day I had tremendous unwillingness. I felt that I could not get up at that hour because in the morning I had to do sports. But that “somebody” would not listen! My brother Chitta was in the same room, fast asleep. At seven minutes past two that first night, it was Sri Aurobindo who inwardly pinched my spinal cord – the sushumna, ida and pingala channels of the kundalini. At that time I did not even know their names. I got a pinch, and Sri Aurobindo said, “Get up, get up, get up!” I did not want to get up!

For three days, four days or five days, Sri Aurobindo begged me to get up. Then, after nine or ten days, I got such joy “revising the book” by meditating. I was reviewing the yoga of my previous incarnations.

From then on, always I got up at seven minutes past two. Between my bed and Chitta’s bed there was a table with an alarm clock. I did not use the outer alarm; with the inner alarm I got up and meditated under the mosquito net. My brother Chitta would get up at five-thirty or a quarter to six.

In those days I was able to sit properly on the bed. I did not use the full lotus position, only the half lotus. I sat against the wall. Still my brother Mantu stays in that small room where I meditated for so many years. Mantu keeps my father’s picture and so many of my pictures, either alone or with important people. In my family’s present house, there are quite a few rooms, and five rooms are full of my pictures, all framed.

To come back to the story, at ten-thirty or a quarter to eleven I would go to bed. Then, at seven minutes past two I would get up and meditate for three hours, or sometimes three and a half hours. Afterwards I did not have time to go back to sleep. I did yoga for all of you, on your behalf! I do not think anybody among my disciples gets up at two o’clock and meditates for three hours at a stretch. And I was not lying down! Of course, some seekers may claim that they meditate and get the highest realisations while they are fast asleep. But in my case, it was not that kind of meditation.

4 February 2002, Sabah, Malaysia